


Strangers in the Night

by ElizaStyx



Series: Christmas OTP Challenge [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Caring Dean, Catching a cold, Coffee, Cold, Fever, First Meeting, Fluff, M/M, Traffic Jams, cruel machines, cuteness, getting ill, taking care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2014-12-06
Packaged: 2018-02-28 07:30:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2723909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizaStyx/pseuds/ElizaStyx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel just wanted to have his coffee. He got something else instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strangers in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #16 Catching cold from being outside too much

Castiel chose the deliciously looking chocolate cappuccino and bent down to look through the little window at his coffee in making. The machine buzzed silently and then the brown liquid started pouring down.

The problem was that there wasn't any cup it could fall into.

It felt so bad, all hopes and dreams crushed down and swiped away by the sight of the desired and needed liquid flowing away. An unhidden hurt appeared in Castiel's eyes as he realised he had been betrayed.  
The torture continued until the last drops dripped down and... an empty cup popped up in its rightful place.

It was like a final nail to his coffin.

Making a sad face, Castiel took the empty cup out and measured its emptiness. It was unsurprisingly total.

He sighed heavily and took a look around. The machine stood next to the entrance to a closed market and was covered in snow exactly like the rest of the world. It was cold and no one cared about him or this assholish machine.  
Of course there was a number to the service written on a fancy sticker but he wasn't exactly keen on standing there for the sake of a dollar.

Then he thought about all the other people who could lose their money in such a stupid way too and so he chose to call it anyway as this good-hearted man he was.

The person that answered had a warm and friendly voice and Castiel's thoughts immediately wandered away for a while.  
"Hello? Are you still there?" the repeated question finally made its way to his mind.  
"Uhm, yes, hello." he blushed. "I'm calling because I tried to buy a cup of coffee from your machine at Lincoln Street and something's definitely broken. It took my money, then poured the coffee despite the lack of a cup and when it finished working an empty cup popped up."  
"Oh, okay, I get it." the man sounded apologetic. "I'm sorry it happened. I can be there in ten minutes to take care of it and give you a full refund."  
"Okay, no problem." Castiel tried to sound reassuring as it wasn't this man's fault after all. "I'll be waiting."  
"Thank you. I'll be as fast as I can." the call ended.

Castiel exhaled sharply and pulled the phone away to rub his hands together as it really was pretty damn cold.

***

Dean Winchester was stressed. This accident couldn't have happened in a worse time. It really should have taken him less than ten minutes to get to that man who called him but a bus driver had lost control over his vehicle and it ended up rolled over in the middle of the street, blocking the whole way. Fortunately nothing serious had happened to anyone but people were hurt and there was a lot of work for the firefighters who had to remove the bus out of the way.  
Dean was stuck in the middle of a gigantic traffic jam and there was no way to drive back as the other cars blocked him completely before he realised what was happening.

Almost an hour had passed before he was free to go and during this whole time he could only feel more and more guilty, silently hoping that this man, who sounded so lost and friendly over the phone, chose to not wait for him and waste his time freezing outside.

When Dean finally managed to reach his destination, he quickly found out it was definitely not his day.

***

Half an hour had passed and Castiel was shaking. He knew that a reasonable thing to do would be to just walk away and forget the damned machine but somehow he felt obliged. He had promised he would stay plus the guy sounded sincere so something must have happened and Castiel was slightly worried.  
Minutes were slowly passing by and he curled as much as he could, trying to save some heat.

Finally, when nothing seemed to be helping him any more, a black car parked in front of him and a man with blonde hair and flushed face jumped out of it to approach Cas quickly.  
"Oh, man, I'm so sorry!" he seemes so worried that Castiel wished he coud hug him and say it was nothing but his teeth were chattering. "There was this accident and I couldn't... Why did you wait for me? You are freezing!" his green eyes were so big, Castiel wanted to get lost in them to forget this awful cold.  
"I'm okay." he muttered, trying to smile.  
"Jesus, just come and sit in my car before you turn into an icicle." he pulled Castiel towards his car and packed him inside. Then he turned the engine and heating on. "I'll be right back, okay?"  
Castiel nodded, looking at him with big eyes.

He went to the machine and quickly repaired the damned thing just like hundreds of times before only to hurry back to his car.  
"You feeling better?" he asked, sitting down behind the steering wheel and glancing at Castiel. "I'm terribly sorry, man. You shouldn't have waited for me, I would have found you and give you your money back."  
"Money?" Castiel frowned, feeling a bit warmer but also a little dizzy.  
"The one you paid for the coffee?" the man suddenly didn't sound so sure.  
"Ah yes..." Castiel shivered visibly.  
"Hey man... what's your name again?" the green-eyed guy asked.  
"Castiel." Castiel answered, biting his lip to stop it from trembling.  
"Hey, Cas, you sure you are feeling alright?" the worry in his eyes was clearly visible.  
"Yeah, just a little..." he sneezed loudly. "cold. And you are...?" he looked at him, trying to focus his sight.  
"Dean." the driver reached towards Cas and hesitantly stopped his hand for a while, right before touching his forehead.

The heat radiating from Castiel's skin was almost burning him.

"You are most definitely having a fever." Dean made a sad face. "Do you have anyone who could take care of you I could drive you to now?"  
"No, I'm all alone." Castiel's head started feeling heavy and filled with cotton. "It's just a cold, I'll manage."  
"No, man, I can't just live you like that." Dean's mouth was a thin line. "Look at yourself, you are shaking."  
"I'm fine." Castiel repeated stubbornly and then giggled, the reality suddenly feeling farther away than usually. "You are damn fine too."  
Dean blushed, worry not leaving his eyes. "You are having some hallucinations, I can't let you stay alone in this state."  
"Then take me with you." Castiel stopped feeling cold, his cheeks were burning. "Save me, my prince!" his voice became seductively pleading right before it broke into a horrible cough.  
"You know, maybe it is the best idea after all..." Dean wasn't looking at him as he slowly drove out of his parking lot. "I can cook some broth. You are ill because of me so it's the least I can do." he smiled sheepishly. "I'll take care of you, Cas."  
"You can do anything you want with me." Castiel grinned.

He was feeling like shit but he was a really happy piece of it. The tips of Dean's ears became red and Castiel giggled silently.  
"That fever of yours must be really high." Dean's voice was somehow small.  
"It is." Castiel closed his eyes, starting to doze off. "I'm finally close to being as hot as you." he chuckled. "Those are the worst pick up lines ever, right?"  
"Definitely." Dean's face was as burning as Castiel's.  
"Hey, you could at least pretend you are falling for me!" Castiel sniffed.

Dean didn't know what to say so he just concentrated on the road for a time long enough for Castiel to fall asleep. Dean glanced at him, his red burning cheeks, parted lips, and eyes moving underneath his smooth eyelids.  
"I don't have to pretend." he muttered, smiling softly.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: the problem that Castiel experienced with the machine happened to me on wednesday. I was so fed up, like seriously, but I didn't have time to call the service. I regret it now, I could have found my true love (or at least a handsome gay dude)  
> All comments and kudos are very much appreciated :D  
> Find me on [tumblr.](http://the-rising-demonmistress-of-styx.tumblr.com/)


End file.
